Eleven Belt and Road countries create a potato industry network, propose a joint Potato Germplasm Resource Bank

In a bid to turbocharge the potato industry, 11 Belt and Road (BRI) countries including China and Pakistan have joined international universities, companies and organisations to launch an international network on the potato industry at a forum held recently at China's Southwest University.

A collaborative effort led by the Southwest University, the Belt and Road potato network is designed to enhance the quality and efficiency of the potato industry in BRI countries through multi-level cooperation, including academic exchanges, joint research, and technology transfer, Prof. Lyu Dianqiu, Dean of the Agronomy and Biotechnology College at Southwest University told China Economic Net (CEN) in an interview.

Specifically, the innovation institute would serve as a platform to facilitate research and promote advancements in potato breeding, germplasm creation and utilisation, and construct potato cultivation demonstration bases, Prof Lyu said.

The potato expert noted that the breeding-oriented cooperation "arises from a detailed study conducted to scrutinise the challenges and potential in the potato industry in the BRI countries.

Lyu Dianqiu:
 

"We found BRI countries such as Pakistan and Kazakhstan are plagued by a lack of quality potato seeds. As a token of support, each country was gifted 100 sets of germplasm rapid diagnostic kits at the forum."

As a first step, he said, training sessions would be organised to impart breeding know-how to the members. To that end, he added, the participants signed a strategic cooperation agreement at the forum and released a proposal for the shared construction and utilisation of the "Belt and Road" International Potato Germplasm Resource Bank.